House moving jokes

Spousal Rollover on Rental Property for Tax Planning
Will be contacting my CPA bean counter on Monday but would be interested to hear what tax planning strategies/scenarios exist.
-We plan to move out of our principal residence and rent it out this summer. -My marginal tax income rate is significantly higher than my partner’s. -I’ve been reading up on spousal rollover on capital assets. -Currently rental income will be divided proportionately on ownership so 50/50 in our case.
I’m thinking I can roll over the house (remove myself from the deed/title) and have her earn all the rental income.
Is it that simple? It can’t be…comments/thoughts welcome.
TLDR: Tax planning on rental income with a partner.

Looking to buy and relocate a house (suburbs) to a piece of land in regional Victoria. Wondering what needs to be considered to achieve this along with any cost guidelines eg how cost would be worked out, is it based on distance moved and anythong else?

Hey Everyone! I just expanded my yard to level 5 and started to dive into the romance portion of the game. With the thought of having another character move into the homestead, I wanted to start expanding the house and make it feel more like a home instead of a one room shack (plus the double bed wasn’t going to fit with all the furniture crammed into one room)!
As I begin the expansion of the villa, I wanted to see what see what my fellow Sandrockers found helpful when building out their workshops! (It seems a little overwhelming at first glance.)

Hello Everyone,
I’ll be moving to Finland next month, and I’ll be relying heavily on my American Express debit card for all my expenses. This includes everything from transportation and housing payments to daily transactions like groceries and dining out.
Could anyone share their experiences or knowledge about the acceptance of Amex in Finland? Are there any challenges I might face using Amex for everyday transactions? Any insights on whether it’s widely accepted for things like public transportation, rent payments, and general shopping would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your help

I’m moving back to PA next month. I am coming from Virginia where I have a license to conceal carry here. I know it is not valid in PA (no reciprocity). However reading up on the law I am confused by it.
I am coming up next week to do some house hunting and I obviously want the means to protect myself. Reading the transportation law it makes it seem like you cannot carry a firearm, loaded or unloaded, in a car unless you are traveling to or from a gun range. So does this mean I can’t have my unloaded pistol in my truck with me? And if I can, am I able to keep the unloaded pistol in my center console with a magazine behind me or something similar? Obviously wouldn’t keep it there while not in the vehicle. Any non legal suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

As has been discussed numerous times on the show, a new ceasefire plan has been presented by Biden. Israel has accepted the terms.
The new proposal Biden laid out is made up of three phases, and breaks from previous proposals because a ceasefire would continue as the parties move through all three. During the first phase, a ceasefire lasting for six weeks, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza population centers, and hostages, including the elderly and women, would be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian civilians would return to Gaza, including northern Gaza, and 600 trucks would bring humanitarian aid into Gaza each day, Biden said.
In the second phase, Hamas and Israel would negotiate terms of a permanent end to hostilities. "The ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue," the president said, a new development. The third phase would include a major reconstruction plan for Gaza.
https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-speak-middle-east-friday-white-house-says-2024-05-31/

My narc mom gave my dad absolute hell for the almost-40 years they were together. She literally drained the life out of him. She medically neglected him at home and routinely told him her problems were worse (she overcame cancer and my dad died from it.) She kept his friends and family from seeing him and almost never came to the hospital when he was in it. On my dad’s last trip to the hospital he said “please did let me live so I can leave her.” She was even trying to manipulate him against me while he was on hospice at home for three weeks before passing . She acted like a content child at his funeral. She told everyone she was abused and he never loved her. I moved out and will never look back.
Now that it’s been about 3 months she’s apparently using the “I miss my husband” card with people, is purposely acting super calm (she always knows when the spotlight is on to behave), and put up a bunch of photos of him in the house. Some of my extended family are falling for her nonsense. How can I succinctly explain to people that her behavior now does not in any way absolve her behavior THEN? It’s like when she temporarily stops narcing people just want the easiest path forward.
I’m bad at explaining things to ppl succinctly bc I get so caught up how many horrible things she’s done I can’t seem to explain why someone appreciating someone only when they are gone is super fucked up.

These are my experiences. Theyre not anywhere close to most... but still happened. To me... those are the ones that really speak volumes as to the existence of... so much more than we're told. Not mine specifically, but the detailed, often kinda anticlimatic brushes with things we cant identify or make sense of, but exceed or lack,the abilities and traits of humans.
Anywho...
I was idk...8.. 10 ish. Warwood WV... small town sits between App. foothills and Ohio River. Furthest reach of WV N. panhandle.... For descriptive purposes, my Grandparents had a shotgun house I think it's called, walk in front door, wall straight thru hall into kitchen and out the back door. Straight shot. L room from on left. Steps up or down on right. So said gnite to Gramma and Pap and I crossed from L room to hallway, towards steps, F and B doors now on my R and L.. I look, and idk why,.. towards the back door and in its window are three heads, kinda bobbing up and down. Like they're trying to see in... And they smiled. They kinda looked like Moe from the 3 stooges, lol but not at all human. Humanoid... Not human. Something about the eyes. I didn't recall this til recently but my mother confirmed me mentioning it the next day after seeing it... never saw anything like that again. Don't recall anything after.
Ffwd, moved to OH. Athens, The Plains areas. 13 14 yrs old. One night as the passenger cruising down a back road.... We saw this... Really big wolf... Quadriped... Greenish yellow eyes. Looked at us like it couldn't care less about a van driving by it. Not an animalistic reaction. Not a crazy looking specimen,... Save it's size and eyes I guess... The kicker though... There are no wolves in Ohio. Atleast not that far south.
Aaaaaand... Roughly 30... I lived in and worked for an apt complex in DE. at the time. I was walking from one court, down a hill with a trench made where water drains, next to a small patch of woods, on my way to my court at the bottom of the hill. The woods are like. ... Idk... A soccer field size. Nothing big at all. It's dark. I gotta watch my feet cause this trench is an ankle breaker at best if you don't mind it. But I hear... Mmmm feel something kinda drawing me to look towards the woods on my right, as the apartment building brick wall is on my left.. I see this... Profile of what would be a person, peeking from around a tree about half way into the woods... So I'm seeing it from hips to shoulders and head roughly. The two things though... It had ears or horns on its head, but I couldn't discern because it's entirely made of static.. snow.. like when cable goes out... if your old enough to recall. I got a really weird nervous feeling, put my head down and walked faster to the lights of my parking lot. Never saw anything like that again. Ive listened to many many of these experiences here and elsewhere, but Ive only heard of something close to this 3 or 4 times, including mine.
Nkt goinna touch the numerous and continuing sleep paralysis issues and reoccuring "shadows" that linger.... right now.
Thanky

Hello,
For a while now i have a need to own my own stuff mode independently. I'm fond of making tech work for me, loved it to have the lights turn on and off when i get home etc.
I'm 43, behind the development of new things like hypervisors and how those things hook into each other with redundancy etc etc. But, i'm trying my best. got some things running'ish. But it wasnt working as intended. I'm aiming for a 3-2-1 setup.
What i have might not be optimal, but i hope its fine enough to start with. I have a HP Prodesk 600 G2 Mini, i5 core, 32 gb memory, 256gb ssd and a 2tb nvme drive.
What i would like to achieve: A proxmox setup, with multiple drives (mirrored for redundancy). Running: Truenas for storage/NAS functions. VM's to host my local media (plex/jellyfin, i have not decided), photo-backup, home-assistant). I'm not a power-users. I'm fine with 1gb networking, read/write speeds are nice, but i'm not into 4k movie editing so, with a little patience i'll get there.
But to get all the VM's etc running, the basics have to be in order. For redundancy, i would need extra storage. Maybe in the form of 2x external drives?
And for getting it setup, best case, a friend in the neighbourhood to help me allong, but their interest lie elsewhere. So, a guide or resource that i can follow allong would be great.
TLDR: I have a tiny low power pc, that might need 2 external drives to make redundancy viable. I want to start selfhosting some services. I'm lost in the countless options out there. I'm looking for a setup that will at least get me started and stable. In a later date i'd hpoe to upgrade to little larger case, place some extra physical drives and use this new machine in the house, and move the tiny PC to function off-site. What to do, where to start.

I am so fucking tired of suffering housing insecurity. I made 70k+ the past 3 years and now clear 6 figures in a new role. I shouldn't be suffering housing insecurity.
I'm not even talking buying; obviously I should be able to afford to buy but low 6 figures gives you no real buying power in this market. Or period in New England.
I'm talking rentals. I've been forced farther and farther from Boston, which okay I guess fair enough but rents went up 50% in less than 2 years. Now you can't even find a place for less than 2k/m without housemates. And even when you FIND an amazing place where you're finally approaching feeling safe with good people, the landlords in MA are such cunts they'll rip the carpet right out from under you (Kelly Ryan Real estate; refused to renew the lease after I asked for a heads up if someone is entering the home after they sent two teenagers over unannounced and I found them rummaging through our stuff. They sure showed me how meaningless I was and how powerful they were. Housemate warned me the family had extreme anger issues. I was too scared of home invaders to remember that.)
If you're not dual income you're fucked. Even if your single income clears most dual income households. I make too much to qualify for any programs to help with housing security, but to little to keep a stable home.
I'm in bed nerves completely raw because the current landlord sold the house with a month and a half notice to fuck off. My current best bet is renting from a guy who is larger than me, a combat veteran with guns. I'm a 130lb woman. I'm scared shitless. I want to believe people are good and that I won't get raped or murdered. But christ I just want a safe home.
My literal logic is it's safer to take this risk than the risk of living in my car where I will be very exposed and explicitly targeted.
I just hate that this housing crisis has been at minimum in development for 10 years, I was frustrated a decade ago by my lack of buying power. I remember using the term housing crisis as early as 6 years ago. Nothing has been done! Even with it being a big political buzzword right now and we'll past boiling over, I do not trust the american government to do anything.
I'm just bone tired exhausted of moving multiple times a year to avoid being evicted or to escape violent situations. I'm just trying to keep rent under a paycheck like grandpa always taught me. That's $1,555, and that's not enough to live safely alone. I also haven't been able to hit that goal for 3 years, WITH housemates (prior to this job 25% was 1k).
I get that so many people have it worse and that I am "fortunate" but it pisses me off so much that the quality of life in America has plummeted to the point my situation is fortunate.
I've worked so hard and I'm still laying in bed right now, chest feeling raw, electric and shot from nerves, because once again I'm being forced to move in a hurry against my will and I'm scared for my safety.
I haven't felt "home" in 4 years, since moving to MA. It has taken a massive toll on my mental health and emotional wellbeing. I don't trust anything to last anymore. I'm exhausted. I can't imagine a world where everything is okay and I'm safe.

I am looking to leave my current houseshare, I've been living here for just 3.5 months roughly, but recent behaviour from one of my roommates has just accelerated my urge to move on to accommodation more suitable for myself. I never was given, nor have I signed any tenancy contract, everything was done either verbally or over text messaging with the landlord. This landlord, while he has been overall okay, let's himself into the house, mainly to lift mail, on a routine basis, without giving us tenants any prior notice? How much notice would I have to give the landlord to vacate this room legally, and if there isn't much required notice, how much would you guys give him? If anyone happens to mention, I'm not necessarily stuck for a new place to stay either.

Background and general info:
I've been with my partner since I was 19, we were the young and dumb. She ended up pregnant within 6 months and the early years of our relationship were hard, we lived within in laws for a year until I could scrape enough money together to buy a house, we didn't know what we were doing, I was studying part time while working full time. It was hard but we got past that. The studying and the hard work paid off and we've lived quite comfortably since then along with welcoming two more children along, planned this time.
Out kids are 7M, 3F and 1M. I work weekdays and m partner works weekends. Home life can be a little hectic from time to time. I've had a bit of a rough week this week at work, I'm moving into a new role in a couple of weeks, it's a significant increase in pay and it'll mean where we are already comfortable we'll be in a position where we won't have to worry about the cost of living crisis and we can start looking at family holidays etc, you know live a little.
There's the usual things like cooking and housework. She doesn't cook and all Ill say about the housework is that there is an expectation for me to get more done at the weekend with all three kids than she gets done during the week while two of the kids are in school/nursery and I'll leave it at that.
The romance is gone, the last time I offered to take her on a date she said "There's no point". She doesn't want to go out with friends because she wants to be in the house with the kids and that's fine if that's what she wants, we've talked about it, about the damage it's causing our relationship but nothing ever changes and I've got to the point where it barely bothers me anymore.
What bothers me is that because she doesn't want to do anything, she gets annoyed at me when I want to do things. I attended a christening earlier this year and that ended in an argument, on the rare occasion I have the opportunity to have a social life for a night, it ends in an argument. She's at work today and I'm going to a party for my friends kid whose just turned 1. I'm taking the kids with me, my partner's mood this morning indicates there will be an argument when the kids have gone to bed.
We've talked about it, it changes for a few months and then goes right back to this. Every other conversation is about the kids or school, or toys, or what the kids got up to that day, any attempt to change the subject is rejected. I get more conversation out of my 7 year old.
And I'm just tired. I look forward to her going to work so I can chill out with the kids. I dread her coming home because I know the minute she walks through that door she's going to find something to try and suck the joy out of me with.
I've tried talking to her, I've suggested couples counselling she won't do it. Is there anything else I can do?

Hi y’all,
Long time lurker, first time poster here and I could really use some advice.
I, 33, met my girlfriend, 35 on a dating website about 11 months ago. It was very different to anyone else I’d been with. It wasn’t that intense passionate sexual kinda chemistry, but it was something. We just clicked like I haven't had.
Unfortunately we knew she’d have to move interstate temporarily for a work contract for 10 months about 2 months after us meeting. We spent a lot of time together over that 2 months. During that time I learnt a lot about her and she intrigued me. She was avoidant in some ways. Non-committal, which was fine as we had discussed openness and although we agreed to it and went over rules/guidelines, neither of us have done anything about it. With her leaving we figured it would just be something casual.
However, after she left, I visited her, she visited me, we'd go on trips together, and this pattern has continued up until now. She’ll be back next month. So obviously, it became a lot more than casual - I'd never done long distance either so that was all new.
Since we met, she's had a lot going on in her personal and family life, and her emotions are very fiery and up and down. I have always been there to support her through it all. At about 5 months in, she stayed with me for a long period at one point and we didn’t do too well with it. She had a lot of trouble expressing emotions properly… and I think the hardest one for me was that she could not handle any thing to do with us being serious, whether it be a conversation about ‘us’. I think this was our downfall. We lost the honeymoon period too quickly. We weren’t ready to be in the same house.
Despite that, we continued our relationship, with small problems here and there but nothing drastic. We maintained our visiting, and they were a mix of everything. Not as romantic, but still fun. Not as sexual, but still sometimes. I think the distance hasn't helped because when we see each other, its not our normal lives. Its just us, 24/7.
Fast forward to now, 2 months until she returns. She has been extra distant and avoidant. I know she’s busy but she hardly wants to talk to me, she doesn’t seem to care about what’s going on in my life, and things don’t feel good. I want to make it work because I love her.
She told me that although she loves me and I’m her best friend, she just doesn't know what she wants. She needs time to think about it. She can’t give me an answer. She doesn’t want to end it, but doesn’t know what she wants. She doesn’t like the idea of being with only one person… and apparently this is a normal behaviour from her at this point in a relationship - she gets itchy and irritated and everything the partner does annoys her. I’m meant to go see her next week, I told her I could cancel and she said not to.
When I put it like that, it makes her sound horrible and she is not. She just struggles with feelings and emotions. She’s got a huge heart and I love her so much. I'm happy to give her space and step back a bit if it will help. But I guess what I'm trying to know is, what the hell do I do???
I don’t want to be something someone is unsure about, but I also know how much love there is there and I'd hate to give up on that without trying.
Please help me - be as brutually honest as you need to be!
Thanks!

It was an amicable split from a terrible, dissolving marriage that was nevertheless instigated by me being caught doing drugs. I was quickly ushered out of the house and settled back nearer to work in Tokyo seeing as I did not know if I would be able to see my son again. He was nearly 3yo at the time. A very testing year for all of us has passed. He has now turned 4.
My ex deserves immense credit and all the support that she can get from the government for single-handedly bringing him up for 90% of this period, considering it is a society that does not take kindly to single mothers.
Alimony is in the form of the rent for their apartment as well as monthly bills. Monetarily it has not been a burden and I make an effort to offer more when I can.
Over the last year I visit where they live. It is about 40 miles outside of Tokyo, on one or two weekends a month (this being imposed by my ex) and only for a single day, and then my son comes and stays at mine once a month. Those are the parameters that I've had no choice but to agree on , although there are a significantly more rules, with it being Japan, one being installing a GPS tracker on my phone and activating it when I am with him. That rule, blissfully, has now fallen by the wayside.
Basically, they will now be moving about four times farther away from January 2025. And there is very little recourse for me to close the gap. I am tethered to my work here, which is taking off, and where they are moving to (ex's hometown) there is very little in the way of work opportunities. We will continue to do a minimum of two weekends a month, one here and one there. But this news has thrown me for a loop. Accessibility will be relatively limited, it's about a 5 hour drive. And I am working toward coming to terms with the fact that my role in my son's formative years will be somewhat peripheral because of this.
The other day, he clocked on to the fact that I would lie next to him until he went to sleep and then leave afterwards. It really rocked me when after putting him to bed, lying next to him in silence for about 10 minutes and fully expecting him to have fallen asleep, to find him suddenly turning over and grabbing my arm, saying 'Daddy please don't leave'. Every time I go to visit and leave he cries when we part. I hear him wailing when we part. Kid are resilient I know. They are adaptive I know. I am not so much worried that the constant parting from him and him recognizing this every weekend (he very quickly after the split grasped the concept of us living separately) I am with him is going to irrevocably mess him up in some way. Although you never know..., it's that I just feel so sorry for him. Because every time he leaves he breaks down. I've seen every form of sad, tragic, desperate parting that there is over the last year and half. Even with the knowledge, that separation was necessary and inevitable. It still hits hard everytime. Wondering if there is anyone who may have experienced or is freshly experiencing a similar lack of presence in their child's life?

Hello everyone, first of all English isn't my first language, I'm on mobile, and I tend to ramble, so I'm sorry about that. I (34F) am in a short relationship (4 months) with L (28M), he's very kind and sweet, and I'm still adapting to this whole new relationship thing, for this last sentence I'll give you some background. My last serious relationship lasted for 3,5 years between me (24F at the time) and F (21M at the time). It started after we matched on a dating app and we went on our first date. Our first date was crazy perfect, he picked me up on a garden and we went to a tattoo/piercing shop where we got pierced. We talked for hours until evening, and he invited me to eat pizza at his place with his dad lol. It was super late by then, and I lived far far away, so we slept together just cuddling, nothing else. Since then we would meet each other every day. One time (6 months into the relationship) he rear ended another vehicle while going back home. So I decided to move closer to him, because the commute was getting to us. So I did. One week into the new lease, I had an accident and broke my ankle. So he decided that it was better for me to stay at his place to recover (bigger house, access to vehicles, and accessible in general). Three months and two surgeries after I decided it was time for me to go home, but he would convince me to "postpone just one more week" every time, and I would always oblige (I know the little doormat I sometimes am). And things would go like that until I hit the one year mark into that lease. And I said to him "or I move back home or I move definitely here, there's no middle therm", so I moved into his place. I offered to pay rent but he refused. Until this moment the relationship was perfect, his father also lived at that place, and we would always cook together, sing together, go for short trips, etc. But after a while I started to have symptoms of anxiety and depression. Until one day I had a panic attack by just sitting in front of my computer at work. I started to treat that and the doctors said I would have to stop work for a bit, because it was super serious (I don't want to go into too much details for that). At the beginning he was super supportive, but now I know that to have a relationship with someone w/ depression and anxiety it's super hard, 0/10 not recommend. So he and his friends started to be petty to me, and I noticed. One day me, him and his friend went for dinner and I got catchup for me. His friends started to berate me on how catchup is bad for my health and that I should stop using it. I simple replied that every time I see him he is smoking his cigarettes and I never said nothing. Or one time that his friend started to talk bad about gold digger women and insinuate that I was one, because I wasn't working. Before stopping to work I had a career in IT, while my bf had an assistant warehouse job, and I used to earn way more than him (that was never important to me before, honestly). So I said "I know I'm not working, but as soon as I get better I'll earn 4 times more than my bf, so your argument doesn't apply". Just wanted to point out that I had my savings, and I was living off it, paying for food, and other bills. My bf then was very mean and cold to me too, and at one point I asked "Do you want me to move out?" and he said "yes". "After that will you break up with me?" And he said "yes". So I activated my survival mode, and started to work my way into leaving. Between that, and getting a job, I started to pack my things quietly, and applying for jobs. All that while mourning the relationship. For him, I was doing nothing, but I was actually already in the way of signing a new lease, going to interviews and packing my things (and hiding in the house), I wanted to just disappear, I felt humiliated to not be able to leave in the next day after that talk. One day he went after me for sex, and I said "don't be like that, I feel like a piece of meat", he answered "so I'm going downstairs to get some salt then", and from that moment on, all the good feelings I had were replaced by disgust and disdain. A couple days after he asked me what I was going to do on next weekend, because he would go on a trip and wouldn't be home, and I said "nothing". I actually went to help the landlord to clean and paint the new place, since I wanted it to be ready ASAP. And I could move in next Wednesday. When I broke the news to him, he looked surprised and said "already??". So I kinda moved all out in less than a day. After that he would always go after me. I was 27 by then, and from that moment on the idea of a relationship would always make me sick. So I had the crazy teenager phase (since I always had long relationships before) and decided that I would be alone. I started to draw a plan to move to New Zealand, as far away from my ex possible and the plans didn't go through. But 3 years later I moved to Europe, my ex would always send messages saying he missed me, even when he was on a relationship, and in one of my birthdays he sent me a picture from his wallet with my picture in it. I replied politely, but I felt disdain honestly. We haven't talked in years now, honestly, and I'm alright with that. I was single for 7 years icking the idea of going through all that again. Ok, so now, what's happening? I'm 34 now, and I have my cute sweet new boyfriend, and every time he comes here to sleep with me I dream that I sneak out the bed to sleep with my ex. Even though I would never do that, even if he was in other bed next to us. I always feel guilty and dirty, like I'm cheating. I spend the days thinking that I should tell my bf, but I don't want to hurt him. All I feel for my ex is disdain and ick. But I feel like I'm hiding something. What do I do?
TL;DR!: Every time my bf sleeps over, I dream that I sneak out of the bed to go to sleep with my ex, and my brain thinks I'm cheating.

My girlfriend and I have been together for three years, and we have a 16-month-old daughter. We have lived together for the past two years. I handle all the bills, including groceries, while she takes care of our daughter. Despite this arrangement, we often argue over small issues, such as me not smiling enough or jokes that she takes seriously. For instance, when she mentioned she hadn’t showered for three days, I jokingly said, “No wonder you smell,” while hugging her. She didn’t take it well and became very angry. She still brings it up whenever we argue.
One time, when our daughter was six months old, we had a big argument, and she left for her parents’ house, returning the next afternoon. My intuition told me something was off. A few days later, I found a small bag of weed in her glove compartment. She got very defensive and angry when I confronted her, initially saying it was none of my business and later claiming it was from a friend, not her ex (who was a dealer). I let it go since I had no proof, but since then, she calls me a sneaky snake during arguments and gets paranoid whenever I’m near her car or phone.
Although we both smoke, she smokes more than I do, and her parents don’t know she smokes. She can be very secretive, and anytime I come near her belongings, it leads to a big argument. Since the weed incident, I’m still wary of what she might be hiding from me. Whenever I try to calmly express my feelings, it escalates into a huge argument, with her cussing me out. I never used to swear at women before, but her behavior has pushed me to the point of swearing.
I’m starting to question if this is what a normal relationship should be like. I work six days a week, with three days from home, and pay all the bills while also helping out at home and with our daughter. Despite my efforts, I don’t feel appreciated, and her constant shouting really gets to me, which I have repeatedly told her, but she doesn’t seem to care.
Yesterday, we were going to view a house together in her car. As she cleared the passenger side for me, I stood by the driver's side window, waiting. She accused me of sneaking around and looking weird, which led to another big argument. I decided not to go, and the argument continued when she returned.
I feel confuse on what to do, I don’t want my daughter to be from a broken.

Amahahn was seated at an oval table, a velvety dark green cape with golden hems and patterns draped over his shoulders. Three bowls of Shamal stew were placed on the table, vegetables and fine cut pieces of meat floating in the simmering Kahnjari milk.
“Three bowls. Are we expecting company besides our own, Amahahn?” Emma raised a brow as she plucked the visor cap off her head. Amahahn’s response was a chuckle, low and dry.
“Oh, you must be terribly informed. I’m married to a daughter of one of the noble houses on Kouvajilo”
Emma clenched her jaw and fists, slipping into one of the chairs. She placed her cap on the table, glancing over her shoulder as a door opened.
A young woman with olive skin in a white dress stood in the door, hands clutched at her front. A golden belt sat tight around her slender waist, her sleeves large and loose on her arms.
“Laudjehne, love. Come dine with me and our guest” The Prince Regent motioned to the empty seat at his side.
The girl dipped her head, the white dress floating behind her as she moved. She glided to Amahahn's side, fingers tracing his shoulder as she seated herself.
"It's an honor for me to share the same table as you, Empress. I've read your grandfather's books quite actively"
Emma blinked at the sleek face talking to her.
"Oh, yes. My grandfather's books..." Emma mumbled, picking up the wooden paddle-shaped spoon. She lifted her eyes to met Laudjehne's gaze.
"I've just read 'On the Building of the State' and 'The Laws of Steel and Soil' Laudjehne said, stirring her Shamal. Amahahn scoffed with the ghost of a smirk spread across his lips. Laudjehne's rich blue eyes fell upon her husband, her thin throat bobbing.
Amahahn drew a finger along one of his pale cheeks, his vicious smile persisting. The Prince Regent cast his dark eyes on a steward concealed in the shadows of a corner, the man striding forwards with a clay bottle of sweet wine.
Emma nodded her thanks to the steward, plucking her cup from the table and stirred the orange liquid.
"There's something too that interests me about your grandfather, Your Majesty" Laudjehne said, swallowing a spoonful of the beige stew.
Emma hummed her approval of the inquiry as she drank, the sweet finish of the wine dancing over the taste buds on her tunge.
"It puzzles me greatly how your grandfather persistently denies Goudanja and Kouvajilo's request to be annexed into Simonistan. Why would an empire ever turn another state's request for be anexed into it?"
Emma lowered her spoon, swallowing down her rambling thoughts as well as a spoonful Shamal.
"The Constitution of Simonistan does not permit acts of imperialism. Even if the other party willing approves of annexation into Simonistan, we cannot legally carry out such a request within the boundaries of our legal code"
At that, the Prince Regent chuckled. Emma felt heat flare across her cheek, yet she jutted out her chin to disapprovve of Amahahn's taunt. Already, she knew what was to come.
But Amahahn never dared bring up the topic.
"Oh...that's lofty principles to stand by" Laudjehn murmured, batting her blue eyes. Emma sensed her confusion but chose not to clarify. After all, she could not not clarify her grandfather's mindset.
Perhaps, if only she hadn’t taken so much after him; safe for his openly revolutionary rethoric and lingering autocratic aura, she would have annexed the union of Goudanja and Kouvajilo in a heartbeat.
That very popular man who it pained Emma to know, still considered himself an unrighteous dictator, yet cheered her on as empress.
Her grandfatheer the abdicated emperor, who she honored by making him Speaker of Parliament just so he might keep an eye on and help her during Parliament sessions.
“You wish for your home world to be annexed by Simonistan, Laudjehne?” Emma asked, swallowing down a spoonful Shamal

[INDEX]
I banked the fire and stared into the golden eyes of Beatale before I crept into my makeshift tent.
I still had my auric vision running and couldn’t help but notice the thin silver cord that ran from me to Horse. Firming up my aura, I reached out with my hand and grabbed it. I could feel the nearly imperceptible vibration between my fingers as I used my mind to probe at the thread. I could feel a bright spark of intellect, a light at the end of a tunnel. Pushing with my mind, I slid down the thread until the spark grew larger and eventually filled my inner vision with a hazy white light. Horsey thoughts nudged at me curiously.
I slid into the haze and immediately lost all sense of direction. If it wasn’t for the silver thread, I’d have no idea how to exit this shifting white fog. Horsey thoughts got stronger as I followed the thread while the haze thinned and cleared to reveal an endless prairie of green grass. I found myself standing before a naked man wearing a horse mask and I stared in shock. It was obviously me wearing a cheap costume horse mask — there was no mistaking my tattoos.
“What did you expect?” Horse neighed at me. “I am you and you are me and we are all together. Goo goo ga joob.”
Horse made a shooing motion with his hands and I accelerated backwards through the white haze and slammed into my own body with a gasp. I stared at the tarp overhead for a long minute, processing this new revelation. Horse was a part of me, a piece of my spirit. Whatever psychic stuff I did with that silver cord lead me into a house of mirrors where I got to look at myself pretending to be a horse. I can’t even deal with that right now.
Rolling into my blankets, I dropped off to sleep.
*Ding*
-=- - Welcome to the Dreamworld - Included in the Psychic Skills pack, the Inner Sanctum is your psychic domain. It is the mental fortress that you must secure and maintain to defend against psychic and spiritual assaults. All of your neurosis and fears are symbolised in this realm and must be defeated or subjugated before you can become master of the domain. Good luck. -=-
I banished the pop-up and looked around. I knew I was asleep, but everything was just as real as when I was awake. I was breathing, I could feel the floor under my feet, and if it weren’t for the pop-up, I would have sworn I had been teleported. The room I was in resembled an oversized luxury prison cell, maybe a thirty foot cube. No windows. Rough stone walls with thick mortar. Large brass wall sconces were set directly into the stone and suffused the room with a warm, golden light provided by glowing rocks. The stone floor had colourful Persian rugs tastefully placed. A high plaster ceiling was painted with a rendition of Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’, depicting me as both Adam and God.
There was a comfy sofa in front of a large screen television that hung from one wall and an ornate grandfather clock ticked loudly in the corner. It was currently 10:08 PM. Another wall was a floor to ceiling bookshelf, stuffed with books of varying sizes. The third wall was covered with pictures and I could see at a glance that they were images from my life. The fourth wall had a thick riveted steel door on the right side, a full sized mirror on the left, and a computer workstation in the middle.
The picture wall was my first target. A few were quite large, nearly life sized, while others were tiny prints no larger than the palm of my hand. Scenes of my life were displayed in each one. The largest was me riding Horse with a shit-scared expression, shooting at a pack of wolves. Others were smaller, each with different frames. Some ornate gold or silver, others plain wood, a few wrapped in briars or barbed wire. Nanny Ramsey holding me as a young child. My dog Jean with a red ball in his mouth. My parents, screaming at me. I turned my attention to the books. Books are safe. Books don’t judge you.
The sweet, musty scent of a used book store filled my nostrils as I drew close to the honey coloured shelves. Hundreds of volumes filled the wall from floor to ceiling, with a ladder that could be rolled along a rail to access the top. I smiled at the sight. I had always wanted a library like this. I pulled a book at random and read the title, “Confused Fantasies about Joseph Harris, part XXIV of the Middle School Years”.
I slid the book back onto the shelf. Let’s see what’s on TV.
The remote was a slim, futuristic looking affair with a minimum of buttons. I pointed it at the television and moments later the huge screen came to life and presented me with a simple menu for movies, divided into six categories: Happy, Surprised, Afraid, Disgusted, Angry, and Sad. I scrolled through the offerings for a minute, reading the titles and reviews about the movies of my life. It really bothered me that there were so few selections in the Happy section.
The number of Sad movies increased by one.
I walked over to the mirror and noticed there was a small sticky note pasted to it. “Astral Realm. Experienced users only.” I shoved the note in my pocket and stared at my image. Sturdy black boots, black denim jeans and shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons, deep brown gun belt slung at my hip, red bandanna and black felt hat. All I needed was a pencil moustache and I would look like the stereotypical villain in any spaghetti western. At that very moment I decided to grow out a goatee. I’d rather be mistaken for a bad guy than a victim.
So how does this astral realm thing work?
The mirror appeared to be nothing more than a mirror. It was cold, smooth glass surrounded by a wrought iron frame, and reflected my image. I didn’t necessarily want to go walking into danger, but I wanted to know how it worked. I pushed and prodded the glass in frustration until I noticed my image grinning at me. I jumped back in surprise and it doubled over in silent laughter.
“Hilarious, dude. You got me,” I huffed. “So how do I get in?”
My mirror-self tipped his hat and stepped to side.
I reached up to the mirror again and my hand passed through, vanishing as if cut off. Okay, just a quick peek and we’ll explore the rest of the room. I stepped through and the world shifted around me. I was standing back at the campsite. My body was insubstantial as a ghost and the tarp was a wisp of substance running straight through me. Non living things don’t seem to have much presence in this realm. Glancing down, I saw my sleeping body rolled up in the blankets, a thin silver thread running from it to me, and another thread running to Horse.
Looking around, I surveyed the campsite. My astral vision seemed to be on and had an unlimited range. I could see the life all around me, the distant forest was a sea of greenish-gold, grasses and brush nearby glowed with spectral light. Tiny ghost insects scurried while ghost mice nibbled at whatever ghost mice nibble on. Ghost seeds and ghost insects, I suppose. I turned my attention overhead and gaped at the sight of a monstrous serpentine spirit flying through the inky void. I dropped back through the tent and rolled inside my body. That was plenty enough for now.
I rolled through the mirror and landed flat on my back, staring at the fresco on the ceiling. Vinnie-God winked at me and Vinnie-Adam grinned. Climbing to my knees, I brushed non-existent dust from my trousers and watched mirror-me doubled over in soundless laughter.
“Hey, laughing-boy!” I yelled at him. “You’re like the guardian or something, right? You got it covered?”
Mirror-me stood and saluted with a smile, then gave me two thumbs up. A moment later, his face took on a serious expression and he wriggled his right hand in the ‘maybe’ motion. Then he pointed at me, tapped his wrist, and then a finger to his head.
It all depends on how fast I learn stuff, I guess.
Two thumbs up and a winning smile reflected back to me.
A large cork board was mounted to the wall over the computer and a small note was pinned to it. “Note to self: Don’t fuck with the Elvish womens.”
The computer screen featured a screensaver of me as Vitruvian Man doing callisthenics over the words ‘HumanOS’. I tapped the spacebar and was rewarded with the sound of powerful fans kicking to life as the computer emerged from sleep mode and prompted me for a password. Should I assume it’s the same as the password on the computer I pawned in my previous life?
Password: *******esi
I was rewarded with a sweet R&M desktop and a couple of icons. System, NeuralNet, My-Tunes, My-Movies, My-Office.
System was just what I expected, lots of .dna files and other confusing scariness that allowed me to tweak my physical body and mental state. My-Tunes was a collection of every song I’d ever heard and My-Movies was a collection of every movie I’d ever seen. Not that I’m complaining, but it would have been nice to have “My-Games” so I could play RDR. My-Office was a clone of the popular software by a similar name. I have no idea what I’ll ever need a spreadsheet for in this world.
NuralNet opened up a search engine called Me-Seeks, featuring a familiar blue guy.
I typed in “beer” and several thousand results were displayed, anything I’d ever read, heard, or watched about beer, including how to make it. This right here made the price of admission totally worth it, access to an exact copy of everything I’d ever read, and I was a voracious reader. Sadly, most of the stuff I read was futurology — solar panels, electronics, biotech advancements, quantum computing. The material for steam engines, blacksmithing, farming and the like, were slim pickings. That’s okay though, I could still reproduce the Gutenberg press, the cotton gin, simple internal combustion engines, and basic batteries along with some sketchy knowledge of metal alloys, acids, bases, and other things I had read over the years. All that wasted time watching “How Things Work” was finally going to pay off. I copied a few likely money makers to My-Office, saved the file, and exported to my Notes, just in case they didn’t exist on Aerth.
A popup covered the screen.
📱 [New Upgrade Available!] 📱
🎉 Enhance Your Experience with the Latest HumanOS Features! 🎉
🌟 Features Include:

• 🧠 Memory Booster: Increase your Memory for smoother multitasking and improved performance.
• 🔋 Energy Optimizer: Extend your battery life with advanced power-saving techniques.
• 🛠️ Utility Upgrades: Access new apps and utilities to enhance your daily life and adventures.
• 🗺️ Advanced Mapping: Never get lost again with enhanced GPS and location tracking.

🔥 Special Offer: Only 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0! 🔥
[Upgrade Now ✅] [Remind Me Later ❌]
Apparently I could upgrade myself, which reduced the cost of using my Utilities while providing other minor benefits. My Utilities would level up as I used them, which would increase their battery cost, so if I didn’t keep pace with an update to the OS they could become prohibitively expensive to operate.
Stupid pay-to-win world.
So, do I pay 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0?
I selected version 3.0 and klicked [Install]. After watching it download the update, it popped up another screen that asked if I wanted to update now, or wait until Midnight for the mandatory update.
I selected [No] just as the grandfather clock chimed 10:30 PM. I wondered if time ran slower in here, because it seemed like I had spent a lot more time on the computer than 15 minutes. Walking over to the imposing steel door, I noticed a bronze key with a thin chain in the lock. There was another sticky note on the door. “Subconscious. Please keep the key with you at all times.”
That’s not scary at all, is it?
I unlocked the door with a loud clunk and pulled it open to reveal a bedroom straight out of some royal castle. I could tell immediately that it had seen better days. The tapestries on the wall were frayed and fading. The canopy over the bed had a few holes in it. A thin layer of dust covered the mantle of a small fireplace set into the wall. There was a window letting in bright sunlight and I moved over to look outside.
I was on the third floor of a keep surrounded by the walls and turrets of a modest castle. A castle that had fallen into serious disrepair. Did this represent the state of my inner mind? One tower was shattered and the curtain wall under it damaged. The lower bailey was full of litter. I could see a few soldiers walking around the allure, keeping watch.
I have people in my subconscious?
Someone behind me cleared their throat.
Whirling, I discovered a familiar old man standing in the door of the bedroom. What was left of his hair formed a white halo around his head, his face was unshaven and covered with several days of growth. He was dressed like a poor and tattered manservant, but carried himself with a dignified air.
“Woodhouse?”
“It’s nice to see the master at home,” He said with a proper English accent. “There are many matters that require the master’s attention.”
“Uh, sure,” I said, hanging the key around my neck and tucking it in my shirt. “And who are you again?”
“Your personal manservant, of course” he said with a slight bow. Walking over to the steel door, he pulled it closed and it locked with a solid thunk. “Master should always keep his inner sanctum closed. One never knows if something nasty will creep in.”
“Thank you, uh, Woodhouse. I’ll remember that,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “So what needs tending and how do things work around here?”
He smiled and beckoned me with a white gloved hand. “If master would be so kind as to follow me, I’ll introduce him to the staff and explain the duties and obligations of his domain.”
I’m 99.9% certain that everyone here is just me wearing a mask, so I shrugged and followed Woodhouse out of the bedroom and into the rest of my subconscious.
Five minutes later I was on the ground floor and seated on a shabby throne with the cast of a popular —and probably very copyright protected— animation in front of me. Woodhouse was the head butler and my personal manservant. Pam was the cook and demanded that I start importing sugar and alcohol before she was shushed by Woodhouse. Carol was a maid. Krieger was chancellor and Cyril was the steward. Archer and Lana were in charge of security. Ray was the marshal in charge of everything from the stables to the blacksmith.
I stared in disbelief at the motley crew kneeling in front of me. No wonder my inner mind was in such shambles. I was overcome with an irrational sense of anger at myself.
“Arright, listen up,” I barked, my voice echoing around the room. “I swear to God that I will fire every single one of you and hire circus clowns to replace you if you keep fucking things up. No joke. Circus clowns, got it?”
I ran a hand over my face as Ray pissed himself. “The only reason I’m not putting a boot in your asses right now is because I realise that you’re aspects of me, and the people you represent are pretty damn good at their jobs when they give enough of a shit to actually do them. As a team, you’re dysfunctionally fantastic and always seem to come out ahead no matter the odds.”
Heaving a sigh, I continued. “Things have changed and I need to get my shit together. I’m going to need every one of you to pull your weight and help me help you. Get back to your duties, I’ll meet you one on one later.”
My subconscious caretakers scurried out of the room.
“I’ll have one of the maids tend to the piss,” Woodhouse assured me.
“Never mind that,” I snapped. “I honestly had no idea my mind was such a shit show. I’m very disappointed in myself.” I pictured the Angry, Sad, and Disgusted counters on my personal movies clicking up. “Show me what needs to be done and let’s get started.”
During Woodhouse’s walking tour, everything clicked into place. This was some altered version of Bodiam castle, a location that was on my bucket list of places to visit. The royal council room, located behind the throne room, contained a “living” tapestry on the wall that showed the castle and surrounding land in real time. The castle was located in the middle of a small lake, and a single wood bridge led to the mainland. A small town surrounded the lake and a wall encircled the town. Outside the wall, the land was an irregular patchwork of forest and field, with a stinking swamp to the south. The entire “kingdom” was maybe ten miles across, surrounded by impassable mountains with innumerable creeks that fed the lake which drained into the southern swamp.
“Zombies are the problem, sir.” Woodhouse said, as I surveyed the living tapestry of my mental domain.
“Zombies?” I prompted.
“Yes sir, Zombies” Woodhouse continued. “Nasty bitey things that come in from the mountains and harass the peasants. They’ve gotten especially worse over the last few months. The soldiers do what they can, but they seem to have lost all motivation. Probably because they haven’t been paid.”
“And who pays them?”
“Typically chancellor Krieger is in charge of financial matters, although Steward Figgis has taken over the duty, sir.”
“Then let’s make Figgis our first stop.”
“Very good, sir.”
The office of the steward was run by Cyril Figgis, who managed the kingdom in my absence. It was overflowing with paperwork and charts, books and scrolls piled high on every flat surface. Cyril was desperately attempting to tidy things when Woodhouse and I walked in.
“Yo..you..your majesty,” Cyril stuttered, bowing low. Scrolls fell from his overloaded arms, spilling across the floor. He dropped to his knees and scrambled to gather them up. “I didn’t expect you to visit so soon. Please forgive the mess, housekeeping has been slacking…”
This was the guy who ran things while I was conscious.
“Shut up, Cyril” I said. “You’re responsible for everything in this office. That includes keeping it organised and tidy.”
“Y..yes milord.”
“It’s my understanding that you’re in charge of making sure everyone gets paid. So why aren’t we paying people?” I asked.
“We’re nearly out of Fuks, your majesty. I’ve been saving them for emergencies.”
“Fucks?”
“Fuks,” Cyril explained, pushing a pile of books off a large chest and opening it. Reaching inside he pulled out two small bags and emptied them on top of his cluttered desk. “Gold and Silver Fuks, the currency of the kingdom. I can’t maintain the kingdom when I have no Fuks to give.”
Behold the subconscious kingdom of Vincent J. Carter, it runs on Fuks.
“So how do I get more fuks?” I asked, examining one of the coins. It had an image of me on one side and symbol on the other that could be interpreted as “peace among worlds”.
“You kill the zombies, your majesty.”
Of course I do.
Woodhouse and I left Cyril’s office and headed towards the office of the chancellor where Krieger worked. It seemed that Cyril took over financial matters when Krieger became erratic and proposed luring all the zombies into the city and setting it on fire. Not sure how that corresponds to my own self-destructive behaviour, but I’ve had some dark thoughts over the last couple of months and I’m sure they’re reflected here.
Krieger’s office was much neater in comparison to Cyril’s, but it wasn’t by much. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with an array of questionable items, including a still snapping zombie head in a jar. While the office of the chancellor was supposed to be in charge of financial matters, it looked more like a dodgy rummage sale.
Krieger was launching sword blades at a pig carcass when we walked in.
“What exactly are you doing?” I asked, standing in the doorway.
“Hm? Oh, your majesty!” he said, turning around and bowing deeply. “I’m testing a new invention. It’s a spring loaded hilt that shoots sword blades. Very useful for our soldiers.”
“Stupidest idea ever,” I snapped. “I hate everything about it.”
“Okay,” Krieger said, tossing the hilt into a nearby pile of junk. “But don’t blame me when you need to shoot a sword at a zombie and don’t have one.”
“So why aren’t you managing the financial affairs? Collecting taxes, paying people, stuff like that?”
“Because the population has declined so much none of that matters?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wellll, the population represents things you care about,” Krieger said, going into lecture mode. “And the zombies and other monsters are real or imagined problems in your way. Since you don’t care about too many things the population has shrunk to just what’s needed to keep everything running on the bare minimum of fuks. And since you don’t seem to have any long or short term goals, there’s no need to kill off the zombies and get more fuks. Everything is fine just the way it is.”
“No, it’s not Krieger” I said, grinding my teeth. “My mind is in a shambles. It’s a joke. I want it fixed. No, I want it better than fixed. I want it improved.”
“Oh! I’ve got just the thing for that!” He said, digging around in his pockets, “It’s a spring-loaded hilt that shoots swords!”
Pam and Cheryl were hanging out a gallery window jeering at Archer and Lana sparring in the inner courtyard.
“What the hell are you doing!” I snapped
They whirled in surprise and then dropped into deep curtseys.
“Your majesty!”
I took a deep breath, trying to regain my centre. “Get to work cleaning this place up. Find a room, clean it, and move on to the next. Start with my bedroom, then the throne room and the council chamber, then everything else.”
Cheryl spoke up. “Can’t do it. We got no fuks to clean with.”
“You need fuks to clean?”
“Gotta buy stuff,” Pam said. “Cleaning supplies, food. You wanna eat, you’re gonna have to spend some fuks.”
“Talk to Cyril,” I ordered. “Tell him I said to get you supplied.”
They ran off in the direction of the stewards office.
I watched Archer and Lana bashing each other enthusiastically through the window.
Several minutes later the sparring couple stopped and bowed when Woodhouse and I stepped into the inner courtyard.
“Your majesty”
“My liege”
“Enough,” I said. “If you have enough energy to smash each other, you have enough energy to smash zombies. Tell me what I need to know so I can start gathering fuks.”
Archer shrugged and spoke first. “You just kill the zombies and other monsters. They drop fuks.”
“Anything special about the zombies?” I asked. “Are they fast? Do people get turned into zombies when bitten?”
“Nope,” Lana said, resting her wooden sword on her shoulder. “Most of them are slow shamblers and just need a good wack to the head to kill them.”
“Some are special,” Archer interjected. “Occasionally you’ll have some fast ones, or those that need holy water to kill. They’re just bad memories, figments of your personality that need to be eliminated. Some are worse than others.”
“The zombies are bad memories?” I asked, imagining all the bad memories that I had.
“Memories, thoughts, insecurities, metaphysical mumbo-jumbo,” Woodhouse supplied. “They are endless, but constant vigilance can keep them under control.”
“So let’s get started,” I said. “Lead the way.”
Lana and Archer lead me up to the parapet over the front gate where I looked over at the dozens of zombies milling about aimlessly in front of the entrance to my mind. Pulling out my gun, I began to pick them off, easy as shooting fish in a barrel. The crack of my spell pistol attracted more zombies and I dispatched them with ease until no more were left around the gate. As I fired each shot I could feel some sort of existential energy flowing from me, draining some hidden reserve.
“Gather up the Fuks,” I commanded. “And Lana?”
“Mi’lord?”
“There’s no excuse for this. From now on, I expect the walls to be clear of all zombies.”
“Yes mi’lord,” she said, giving me a small bow.
Turning to Archer, I shook my head. “You’re obviously my personal narcissism, so just try to stay out of Lana’s way, or better yet - try to kill more zombies than her. If you think you can.”
Archer scoffed. “No contest. I took top marks in sharpshooting.”
“That means I should expect to see results by tomorrow. I look forward to it.”
Archer looked panicked for a moment then smiled. “Sure, I can give you results.”
Turning back to Woodhouse I said “Show me what else need attending.”
Woodhouse led me through the town that represented my mind, pointing out each business that had fallen into disrepair, suggested others that needed improvements, and additions that would benefit me. In the distance, I could hear Lana and Archer shooting at the crowd of zombies and with each echoing shot I felt a tiny bit better about everything.
[INDEX]

I met my ex two weeks after cheating for closure, she kissed me again passionately with her eyes closed. She felt guilty afterward, saying, "I won't cheat on him." When I asked her if she would tell her new boyfriend that we met, she said no.
I broke up with her after 1-year relationship because I had a gut feeling she was going to cheat. After I broke up with her, a week later she started crying and asking for forgiveness. I thought she really loved me, so I forgave her, and we got back together. Then, the very next day, she went to her classmate's house, got drunk, and had sex.
Considering the timeline, it seems like she was already emotionally cheating on me with him; that’s why I was being treated poorly for the last two months.
She said she's in a committed relationship. She mentioned she's planning to move in with him and has met each other's families.
She wanted me to stay as her best friend. When I asked her why, she said, "You understand me so well and I feel comfortable with you.
Then, again after two weeks, she drunk-called me and said she misses me when she gets drunk (as a friend) and suggested we meet up. However, I didn’t meet her again and blocked her from everywhere.
Did she cheat on him with me as well, considering how passionately she kissed me? Has she not moved on from me yet? Does she genuinely want to be my friend, or is she keeping me as a backup plan? And if she is, would it be a good way to get her back?

I've been working at this job for coming up 3years now. She got move to my department and we've been working together for almost a year now. While , sure she is attractive, she's been working out for 20+ years and does a great taking care of herself. I come to find, I dont think her beauty is her biggest asset. She's witty, puts up with mine, and others jokes and even makes her own. Doesn't pull punches, and even though she's a tough shell I've even seen her outside of her work self. Last year, us and a bunch of co-workers went out for drinks for her bday and had a great time. Nothing too fancy, and all went home.
But my problem is I try and avoid work relationships. I make decent enough money to get by and I dont wanna do anything to jeopardize that. Nor do I want to jeopardize anyone else's income if it becomes unbearable to be at work. Ive gotten back into working out myself but have been average most of my life. I may not be the most fit but I try my best to do whats good for me and my mind. But while her and I get along at work. I dont want to even try for, lack of a better word, fear.
Fear of making work awkward, maybe a little fear of rejection but I know I can make it out of that. I've dated in the past but less than 5 people for sure and have an active distain for the online dating scene as it doesn't seem personable.
What bugs me the most is she's in my thoughts after work. Randomly during the weekend, "oh, she'd think this is funny" she's a pretty cool person but maybe its the idea of her, and what she represents. Someone of the opposite sex who's character I find attractive. Its Saturday and I'm thinking about her now.
TLDR: I like my co-worker but don't want to ruin work relationship or either of our jobs.
What do I do?

I’m lacking a meaningful relationship. Can’t even recall the warmth of a hug. There is so much hostility at work that I just stay quiet and to myself. My eyes are brimming with tears today, and I wanna just stop that.
I did see a drone last night. It was a burnt orange glow gently floating over the houses. That was cool. Wish my sucky landlord would let us have cats. If I get a an approval from my MD for a therapy cat, he would raise my rent very high. I can’t afford to move right now.
Thanks my friends. Gonna jump in the shower and catch some sleep before work now.

I just moved out of my parents house into my own house after a divorce last year. My ex is not in my sons (2) life at all other than child support. I now constantly feel like I'm not feeding him enough different foods (oven doesn't work and getting looked at on the 10th), and like I'm not doing enough activities with him. It's mostly all the different sensory play stuff you see everywhere. I would love to be able to do those but I really struggle with potential huge messes, where to do them, having to feel like I need to buy all sorts of different things, and it leaves me feeling like I'm not doing enough for him. He does swimming lessons 2x/week, daycare 3x/week, and loves to play outside on his push bike so we do that a lot or he likes to help water plans. We do watch screen time but again it's a constant worry it's too much, maybe half an hour here and there on the TV. I feel so overwhelmed not having and support now that I'm completely on my own and so lonely. Just needed to get this out of my head in hopes to not feel so alone in all this.